Cognitive Distortion and Problem Behaviors in Adolescents

Abstract

The authors investigated the prevalence of self-serving and self-debasing cognitive distortions and their specific relations to externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors in 96 incarcerated male and female delinquents and a comparison sample of 66 high school students. The incarcerated participants evidenced higher levels of cognitive distortion (self-serving and self-debasing) and problem behavior (externalizing and internalizing) than did comparison participants. Both self-serving and self-debasing cognitive distortions were associated with unique variance in overall problem behaviors. Most notably, self-serving cognitive distortions specifically related to externalizing behaviors, whereas self-debasing cognitive distortions specifically related to internalizing behaviors. The theoretical and treatment implications of the findings are discussed.

Arrested Motherhood: Parenting, Cognitive Distortions, and Depressive Symptoms in Mothers Being Released from Incarceration

“…In line with research in delinquent adolescents and males (e.g., Barriga et al, 2000;Hubbard & Pealer, 2009), mothers being released from incarceration showed increased levels of self-serving cognitive distortions. This finding is relevant because cognitive distortions are not only believed to disinhibit mothers' own antisocial behavior (Barriga et al, 2000), but may also play a role in the intergenerational transmission of delinquency.…”

“…This finding is relevant because cognitive distortions are not only believed to disinhibit mothers' own antisocial behavior (Barriga et al, 2000), but may also play a role in the intergenerational transmission of delinquency. In the same sense, the results suggest that the increased risk for children of mothers being released from incarceration may not just result from low SES in these families.…”

“…For mothers being released from incarceration, self-serving cognitive distortions may be particularly important, as these specific social cognitions are believed to help protect the self from blame and to disinhibit antisocial behavior (Barriga, Landau, Stinson, Liau, & Gibbs, 2000). Indeed, research indicates the prominence of self-serving cognitive distortions in delinquent adolescents and males (e.g., Barriga et al, 2000;Hubbard & Pealer, 2009). Surprisingly, however, no research has studied cognitive distortions in delinquent female adults, let alone in delinquent mothers, or related these distortions to their parenting.…”

Measuring Self-Debasing Cognitive Distortions in Youth

“…Two broad categories of cognitive distortions have been identified: Self-serving cognitive distortions and selfdebasing cognitive distortions (Barriga and Gibbs, 1996;Barriga et al, 2000) self-serving cognitive distortions have been associated with externalizing problems like aggression and conduct problems where as self-debasing cognitive generalized beliefs that are firmly established at the back of a person"s mind and that provide the basis or reference points for biased interpretations of external events. Cognitive distortions refer to those actual processes of biased interpretation of external events.…”

“…The "How I Think" Questionnaire (HIT-Q) (Barriga et al, 2001) is an instrument that evaluates self-serving cognitive distortions related to externalizing problems (Barriga et al, 2000). However there is no such instrument to evaluate the opposite self-debasing cognitive distortions.…”